ISJ November 2015: International education – for saints or sinners?

George Walker

Abstract:

When the International Schools Journal celebrated its 30th birthday in 2011, I sent a message of congratulation to the editor, Caroline Ellwood, which contained the following observation:

The growth and spread of international education (in name if not always in substance) have taken it far beyond the heartland of international schools. Its numerical centre of gravity has shifted elsewhere… (Walker, 2011)

Today, four years later, it is possible to quantify that statement thanks to the organization International Schools Consultancy Research which has tracked the rapid expansion of the international schools market. The results are astonishing. According to ISC Research (Brummitt and Keeling, 2013) there were 6400 international schools around the world in 2013, an increase of nearly 150% over the figure for the year 2000. The top five countries leading the international schools market were the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, China, India and Japan, each with more than 200 schools.